I'd Pay To See You Apologise
by CassandraHolly
Summary: Bella's been Marked, and after the Cullen's less- than- supportive response, she leaves for the House of Night. Now, she's Izzie Davis, a popular and completely new person. Life's good- until the Cullens are invited to the House of Night for a month...
1. Chapter 1

**_First of all, wow._**

**_Seriously. So many reviews, so much love- it's amazing, thank you all sosoSO much. _**

**_Basically I'm rewriting this because I wanted to carry on with it but I didn't like what I'd done so far. The story's the same, just with minor alterations and a slight change in my writing style. I'm sorry I took so long but I promise to be more up to date with it from now on. I hope you all like the rewrites, I love you all. xo_**

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><p>"<em>What the hell is on your head, Bella?"<em>

_I stared at him, confused, as he took a step away from me. His dark eyes were focused on my forehead- more specifically, the brand new, blue outline of a crescent moon on my forehead- and the look in his eyes left me at a loss for words._

_Disgust. Anger. Revulsion._

"_It's- it's a Mark. I'm Marked."_

_The words were forced out between my frozen lips only to be met with a cold glare. _

"_How the hell did you manage _that_?"_

_The words hurt. It's not my fault, I wanted to say. It wasn't me. I didn't do it._

_Instead I looked around at his family for help. But help wasn't coming. The expressions on their faces ranged from indifference to scorn, and so I turned back to Edward._

"_I don't know what to do," I whispered._

_He didn't reply. His mouth, twisted in a sneer so unusual on his face, made acid rise in my throat. Acid was followed by a sudden spurt of anger and I, too, stepped back._

"_Aren't you going to help me?" I demanded. "I need- I need to get to the House Of Night, I only have two days!"_

"_Well, then, you had better get a move on."_

_I took another step back. My face paled, the last bits of blood draining, and I felt a gust of air fall from my mouth. This didn't make sense. He wasn't making sense._

_I turned and ran from the house._

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><p>"Izzie?"<p>

I blinked and returned to the present with a thump. Zoey was standing in front of me, eyes widened to the point of hilarity, hands on hips.

"What?"

"Ah, the pinnacle of intelligence is with us once again." She rolled her eyes and leaned back. "We're going to Pizza Hut tonight, all of us. Table's booked for eleven which gives you three hours to throw yourself in to extensive make up preparation, as I know you must."

"Make up, hair _and _outfit. Don't underestimate the limits of preparation, Zoey, just because you live in sweatpants."

Zoey flipped me the finger and I grinned at her as I made my way to the dormitory I shared with Venus and Aphrodite.

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><p>It was half a year since I had seen Edward or any member of his 'family'. Half a year since I had stood waiting for them to help, only to be met by disgust at my new state of being- apparently, vampires are masters of not only bullshit but also hypocrisy. Half a year since I stole one of the cars from their garage and arrived at the House Of Night, complete with hamster eyes and greasy hair.<p>

This was the reason for our little trip to Pizza Hut tonight, in fact. As Aphrodite had put it, 'The fact that you've managed to avoid the fuckers for six months calls for a celebration. An extensive one, at that. Now where did I put my lippy?'

The funny thing was, I didn't miss any of them.

Obviously their holier-than-thou charade had been buggered when they reacted to my Mark like I'd waltzed in to their home wearing nothing but a coconut bra and a sombrero.

But I had changed so much in those six months that I doubt they'd recognise me if they _did _see me. The most obvious of changes was my appearance- my brunette hair was now white- blonde with tips that changed colour regularly, my face was never seen outside of the dormitory without enough eyeliner to drown a small Indian tribe, and the baggy jeans I used to live in had been replaced with an extensive collection of skirts, dresses and multicoloured skinny jeans. Under the tutoring of Venus and Aphrodite my eye for style had been found and I used it wisely. Then there was my personality, which had morphed in to less chicken- shit- coward and more what-do-you-mean-sarcastic?.

And last (but definitely not least) was the whole issue with the 'gift'.

Basically put, I could heal people. Broken legs, severe burns, cracked ribs- you name it, I could heal it.

Apart from if a fledgling didn't make the Change. Then all I could do was stem the pain as they died in my hands.

As Venus often said, 'The only good thing about this little gift of yours is the ability to mend a broken nail'.

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><p>"Come look at this."<p>

I closed the dormitory door behind me and went over to Venus, who was kicked back on her bed with a décor catalogue. She stabbed her finger on a cream fur carpet. "Like it?"

"That's lush."

"Good, because I ordered it for tomorrow. Along with a new clock for Zoey and the Bumpkin. I swear to God if I have to hear that fucking alarm _one more time_..."

I nodded in agreement. The early morning burst of 'Cotton Eyed Joe' had gotten old by my second day. Even muffled by the walls it made one suicidal by eight in the morning.

Wandering in to the bathroom, I started digging through the huge make- up drawer for mascara. I heard Aphrodite enter the dorm and launch in to her latest fight with Shania Edwards.

Shania was another fledgling from our class. Before I had arrived she spent her whole time trying to get in with Aphrodite and Venus only to be ignored- and then _bam_, I showed up and they took an instant shine to me. This ruffled her pretentious feathers and in retaliation she formed what appeared to be an 'anti- Dark Daughters and Sons' group.

Now here's the thing about the Dark Daughters and Sons: the main members are Zoey, Stevie Rae, the twins, Damien, Jack, Stark, Eric, Darius, Venus, Aphrodite and myself. We have a few things in common, mainly our abnormal 'gifts', our beauty and (in some cases) our habitual bitchiness.

Predictably, the majority of the House Of Night turned on her.

Sucks to be Shania.

I wandered back in to the dorm as Aphrodite ranted on.

"And then she said that _I _was the one spreading rumours about _her _as if I give a flying _fuck _about her personal life, not that there's anything personal about it-"

Of all of us, Aphrodite is the one most at war with Shania after Shania started flirting with Darius at the Christmas party.

"So I smacked her head in to the tree."

Needless to say, nobody ever tried flirting with Darius again.

But Aphrodite's over- protectiveness was just part of who she was- much like Stevie Rae's happy-happy-joy-joy attitude towards life, and Zoey's refusal to swear, and Erik's tendency to be a complete dick on a daily basis.

None of that mattered, though. These people were my family, and I didn't for a _second_ regret coming here.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rewritten **

**_Oh, I forgot to mention- I never read past 'Burned' (I think) so this is my version of what happened in a nutshell: Neferet and Kalona snuffed it, Lenobia's the HON's High Priestess because Zoey didn't want all the responsibility and everything's dandy in the world of our favourite moonheaded buds._**

**_Shall we continue?_**

**_Oh, and also, it comes to my attention that people have been taking parts of my story and reposting. Okay, seriously, first of all come up with your own fucking ideas, and second of all, don't be such a dick, taking credit for my work. Kapisch?_  
><strong>

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><p>Of course, all good things must end (as proved by the disgustingly short lengths of the season sales at Gucci) and this end came in the form of a school announcement held in the Hall.<p>

The Fledglings filed in, us lot bagging the best seats at the back and smiling smugly at the unfortunates left right in front of the stage. For a few minutes, the room was filled with hushed voices. All fell silent as Lenobia swept on to the stage.

One of her traits is her lack of affection for preamble. Instead, she just launched in to what she wanted to say and left the slower ones (of which there were plenty) to catch up.

"I'm sure you're all aware of the fact that we, as a race, are not the only Vampyres in existence. There are others."

I knew where this was going and fought the urge to walk out.

"In rare cases, some of these 'others' do not feast on human blood; rather, they drink from animals, so as to preserve life and live as purely as possible. I was in contact with one such coven this morning."

Several heads turned to stare at me. I imagined myself shooting each of the gawkers in the face and felt a little bit better.

"So I'm pleased to announce that 'vegetarian' vampires the Cullens will be paying us a month long visit, starting in three days."

My jaw hit ground.

"Oh, joy unbounded." Venus said flatly. "Now excuse us while we pack; Mexico is calling."

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><p>"It's going to be okay, Iz." Aphrodite said as we lay on the grass under our tree. "The way I see it, we find the shortest skirt in Tulsa, deck you out in Venus' platforms and my halter neck and tape their reaction when we greet them."<p>

Erin joined in. "Or we could take it further and not introduce her at all. Let them figure it out then deny the knowledge of any Bella Swan."

"As fun as that sounds," I said dryly, "I doubt Lenobia would be pleased with that approach."

They all lapsed in to silence as they tried to think of a way to comfort me.

"You said they can't feel pain?" Venus sounded innocently curious. _Too _innocently curious.

"Only fire… and bites from another Vampire."

"Well, then," She said, leaning up on her elbows and staring at me through the dark. "Time to dust off the flamethrowers."

"Get out your molars, Nerd Herd, we're going to war." Aphrodite sounded just as genuine as Venus, and I began to worry about their sanity… or lack- thereof.

"No, we are _not _going to war." Damien sounded rather like my mother sometimes. "We are going to act with maturity and keep a cool atmosphere, to prove to them how much better off Izzie is without them."

"Sorry, what's this maturiosity thing?" Shaunee said, raising a dark brow. Damien sighed and prepared to launch in to a full on lecture before I held up a hand.

"We're going to be late for the Pizza Hut booking."

"Sort of sad, really," Zoey said as we stood up and began walking through the darkness. "How this was to celebrate the six month separation and they're back in your life in three days."

"Sort of like a Last Supper scenario," Aphrodite agreed.

"And who would be the figurative Judas of the tale?" I asked. Everyone looked at Erik, who rolled his eyes but then grinned at me.

"Sorry, Iz, they offered me an eternity of sparkle… I couldn't resist."

"Even the strongest fall at the mention of sparkle." I agreed solemnly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Rewritten. Enjoy 3**

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><p>"I wonder what Lenobia wants you for?" I said aloud as I walked down the corridor with Aphrodite. It never ceased to amuse me how every other student in the school- even the older ones- scattered out of the way as we stalked past.<p>

"No idea, but it better not be about that damn horse she keeps nagging me to brush."

"Groom."

"_What_ did you just call me?"

I blinked and looked behind us. Zoey had literally bounced up out of thin air and was bobbing along in between Aphrodite and I.

"Groom, not brush," Zoey extended. "And no, it's not about that."

"How do you know?"

"I am all- hearing, all- seeing, all- present, and Lenobia called me in earlier about the same thing."

"What is it?" I couldn't contain my curiosity.

"You'll see." Zoey said. "And when you do, please remember that it was not my idea."

I groaned. Aphrodite swung to the left as we reached Lenobia's office. "Well, this is my stop. If you don't see me in half an hour, send for back up, and tell them to bring mascara." Waggling her fingers, she disappeared down the small corridor to the office. Zoey and I picked up speed again, both on our way to the library.

It didn't take us long to get there- Fledglings were scarce due to preparations for the Cullen's arrival. We wandered in and sat across from each other. The next twenty minutes passed in companionable silence as we worked through Vampyre Sociology studies. Zoey was an exact replica of the girl I had been before the Mark hit me, and our friendship was shown more in our unspoken support of each other. I respected her incredible leadership skills and powers; she respected my own powers and the huge change I had gone through as a person.

Every once in a while we compared answers. The silence was broken by Aphrodite slamming a huge book down next to me with a force that equalled a lorry slamming in to a bus after travelling at 200 mph down a steep hill. Zoey made a noise like a strangled cat.

"Thought I'd join the Hermione convention. Seems to be all she does, slam books all over the place." Aphrodite sat next to me and looked me in the eyes. "You're not going to like this."

"That's a good way to sell it."

"Yeah, well, it's true. Do you want me to go prepare the chocolate shop for your comfort- eating spree after I've told you this?"

"No, it's okay. I think they're all out anyway, remember Erin was dumped three days ago. Just tell me."

"Okay, just don't smack me." She cleared her throat and attempted to look sympathetic, an expression that appears on her face about once a decade, if that. "As the Dark Daughters and Sons of this House of Night, we're in charge of the Cullens when they stay."

"Merde."

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><p>"Things just keep getting worse for you, don't they, Izzie?" Stevie Rae sympathized. At least, I think that's what she was trying to do. She might have just been gloating; after all, the only problem she has on a daily basis is deciding which pair of cowboy boots to stomp around in for the day. She continued her well-meant speech, placing a hand on top of mine. "Next thing you know, Edward will have a girlfriend he brings with him."<p>

"Jesus Christ, you trying to turn her life into a Prime Time soap?" Venus said disgustedly. Stevie Rae turned on her, eyes flashing.

"I'm _trying _to be _understanding_!" She hissed.

Venus held up her hands, eyebrows raised. "Okay, Cowgirl, so sorry, please don't brand me."

Zoey nudged Stevie Rae. "She's joking. Don't let it get to you."

Venus sniggered and picked up her menu again. We were sitting around the biggest table in Pizza Hut, waiting to order. Aphrodite, in a bad mood because I accidentally hit her earlier, hadn't yet stopped complaining.

"We could afford to go somewhere a little more classy, you know. Classy as in with food that _isn't _drowning in oil and _fat_."

Venus was nodding along, and even Damien looked as if he agreed. Erik snorted. "Get a salad, then."

Aphrodite raised venomous eyes over her menu. "As if their salads won't be full of maggots and three weeks old."

Darius clapped his hands together to distract the conversation, but the waiter appeared. Venus looked up at him. I saw her eyes flick over the tall twenty- something year old, and then her mouth flicked up in a smirk. "Well, hello there. I believe we're ready for starters."

He gazed at her for a second before seeming to remember his job. Taking everybody's orders, he kept looking at Venus- who was twirling her hair around her finger and fluttering her eyelashes- before asking her, "A-anything else?"

"Well." She stretched out her arms and looked up at him. "There might be something…"

"Yes?" He went red.

"Something… that you could get me."

"Of course. Um, yes. Of course." He was practically bouncing, and around the table the rest of us were trying not to choke with held in laughter.

Venus held her breath for a moment, gazing at him. Everybody watched her eagerly- I couldn't believe she was actually going to do this.

She slammed her hands back down on the table and flipped her menu at him. "Diet Coke. Now scoot."

This was too much for Jack, who spat his drink out over the table. I slammed my face in my hands, shoulders shaking, and Stevie Rae choked on her own giggles. The waiter stumbled off, wondering what the hell went wrong. Eventually we calmed down, just as he came back and placed the drink in front of her. He disappeared again and Aphrodite turned to me.

"Get out your Healing hands, Iz, we've got a broken heart here."

That set us off howling again. Venus sipped her drink, safe in the knowledge that she had fulfilled her flirt quota for the day. I almost forgot about the Cullens' visit in three days.

Almost… but not quite.


	4. Chapter 4

**_rewritten_**

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><p><strong>Edward's POV<strong>

"So we leave tomorrow to arrive in Tulsa for the evening. Remember, they live at night." Carlisle finished off the preparation speech to various nods and sounds of agreement. I didn't react.

None of them said it aloud, but the question hung over the family like a cloud. Was Bella at the Tulsa House of Night? Nobody knew where she went after she ran away the day she was Marked. Charlie had refused to disclose information on her whereabouts and avoided us like a plague. I hadn't been able to get close enough to him to read his mind on it because Carlisle banned the family from approaching him.

Carlisle had his suspicions on our reaction to Bella's mark. They all did, but Carlisle was the only one to think about it around me. Nobody spoke of it because everyone in the family was confused at their own reactions to it.

Well, everybody apart from Jasper.

Moving my thoughts away from that area, I trained in on the voices around me.

Carlisle and Esme were wondering about the hunting options while at the House of Night. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt about the precautions that would be taken to keep the fledglings safe.

Rosalie was thinking about the housing arrangements, trying to get used to the idea that she might have to stay in a dormitory with fledglings. Alice was wondering about the shopping arrangements and how the hell she was going to last a month without her wardrobe. Emmett was looking at the letter we had received from Lenobia and imagining the school as a haunted boarding school… which it _did_ resemble from the pictures.

They were all cover ups. Everybody was hiding what they were honestly thinking, because all were thinking of Bella.

But then there was Jasper. He didn't bother hiding his thoughts because he knew I would continue to listen until I found the truth. The last thing Jasper wanted to do was go to the House of Night if Bella might be there. Not after what he had done to her.

And it was true; he _had_ done it. As Tanya entered and sat on my lap, I watched him closely. He might deny it, but I only _told_ him to use his ability that day; _he _was the one who had obeyed. _He _had spread my disgust of Bella through to everybody else, not me. It was Jasper's fault that Esme had lost another child, Jasper's fault that Emmett and Alice lost a sister, Jasper's fault that the family had been torn apart at her departure.

Not mine.

Tanya took the leaflet from Emmett and stared at it. "Ooh, when are we leaving? Eddie, we'd better start packing now!" The moment her falsetto started the other members in the room began filtering out. Jasper stood to follow Alice. As he passed me I channelled the emotion most similar to a threat that I could find. In reaction his thoughts went haywire for a minute; I chuckled, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn't be saying anything any time soon.

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><p><strong>Izzie's POV<strong>

"Izzie, can I speak to you, please?"

I turned to see Lenobia, standing by one of the horse stalls. I wasn't a rider myself, but I was accompanying Zoey as she brushed down the horses. I walked over.

"I was just wondering how many of the Cullens were there when you left. I seem to remember you saying there were seven."

I nodded. "Yeah, there is."

"Because they've informed me that there are eight coming. Four males, four females."

I froze. She watched me, not unkindly, as I searched for a response. "Oh." I swallowed. "What's her name? I mean, if you… you know."

"The females are Esme, Rosalie, Alice and Tanya."

This time I couldn't hide my response. As much as I didn't care for Edward any more, one thing he had always been clear on was his lack of emotion for Tanya, especially compared to me. It did not, however, tax the imagination to figure out the motives behind this. He wouldn't want to show up empty handed, after all. Even though I doubted he knew I was here, he wouldn't risk that, not after the show of revulsion he put on, not with his ego equalling the size of Paris.

Zoey was standing next to me- she had heard everything.

"Tanya's a vegetarian, too," I mumbled. "I know of her. Zoey, can you come and help me with my shooting practice?"

"Sure thing, Izzie."

Lenobia put a hand on my arm as we made to leave. "If you feel too uncomfortable, I can release you of Dark Daughter duties for their stay." But I could see she didn't want me to do that, so I shook my head and smiled.

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><p>Zoey set up the target as I picked up my bow and arrow from the cubby belonging to me. Backing up, I set the arrow to the bow, took a deep breath, pulled, and released.<p>

Bulls eye.

Zoey wasn't surprised; neither was I. My shooting skills were shockingly good for someone who, before the Mark, had never hit more than three pins in the bowling alley. Stark had taken a shine to me upon my arrival here and had been mentoring me in shooting. I was nowhere near as good as him, but getting there, and fast.

I shot off a few more before Zoey began throwing targets for me.

"Izzie." She said, between letting go of the stuffed chicken and me hitting it.

"Yeah."

"If they hurt you in any way, I'm going to hurt them worse. That's not an offer, either; speaking for all of us, we're not going to be able to see you hurt by them. You… you mean to much to us."

I didn't reply for a second, spearing one of the flying targets to the hay bale behind it. Then I lowered the arrow and smiled at her.

"Thank you."

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><p>"The carpet's here."<p>

Aphrodite placed the lid back on her eyeliner and wandered over to Venus, who was peering out of the door. In the hall, six or seven girls were attempting to get past the huge pile of fur on the stairs. A man stood near it, panting.

"Sorry." He said between gasps. "'S heavy."

Venus and Aphrodite looked at one another before returning their sceptical gazes to him. He hesitated, then picked up the huge bundle and stumbled over. They stood back as he tripped in to the room, dropped it, and backed off.

"I need to go sign some forms," He said hurriedly, "Lettin' me be in the girl's rooms. Legalities, you see." He rushed off, and the two blondes stared at the carpet on the floor.

"I'm not sure I want that anymore." Venus said flatly.

"He touched it with his bare hands. It does quite lessen the value," Aphrodite agreed.

They looked back at each other. The man appeared back in the door and they looked at him.

"Sorry, sweetie, you got the wrong room."

"Yeah, it's for the boys. I believe the dormitory door reads 'Jack and Damien'."


	5. Chapter 5

**rewritten.**

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><p>The Cullens arrived at the house of Night at two in the morning.<p>

The winter air was cold and dark. They stood at the gates, torchlight illuminating a few feet of the grounds. Even with their inhuman eyesight none of them could see any further than the first few graves- yes, graves; the grounds were a graveyard. None of them doubted that the lack of vision was due to the magic Vampyres possessed.

Eventually, Carlisle lead them down the stone path. Every few feet a black post topped with flame lit up the way. Tombstones dotted the way, some mere stones with names engraved, others more extravagant- angels, tombs, statues. Upon reading some of the words carved in to them, it became clear that all the dead were between sixteen and nineteen. Esme touched a few as she passed them, murmuring prayers. Even in such a scary place as this her compassionate side was strong.

After a walk that seemed to last an unusually long time, the Cullens reached a stone building. Gargoyles marked a huge wooden door. Again, they stopped and stood in silence, before Esme reached up to knock-

"Whoa."

They all turned to see a girl, standing the way they had come. A small path went past her that none of them had noticed. She stood in the violent wind in nothing but a school skirt and fitted black blouse. Ankle boots were barely visible from the patch of long grass she was standing in- grass that bedded a huge stone angel.

She lifted her head to gaze at them, long hair whipping about her body. A blood red crescent glowed on her pale forehead.

"You're the Cullens."

Her voice was flat and quiet, yet easy to hear over the howling wind. Carlisle nodded and stepped forward.

"My name is Venus Davis. I was sent to meet you, as one of the Dark Daughters of this House of Night. Please follow me."

She turned and began gliding down the path. The Cullens looked at one another in silent apprehension, and Alice gasped.

"The angel," She murmured. "Look at the angel."

It was a relatively new statue, meant to mark a grave. Moving forward, Esme wiped a hand across the writing embedded in the stone.

_Venus Davis_

_1995- 2011_

_Loved by many and admired by all. Sleep well, beautiful._

The family looked at each other before wordlessly following the path Venus had disappeared down.

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><p><strong>Zoey's POV<strong>

We watched out of one of the windows as Venus made her way to the Cullens. They were nearing the front door. All appeared to be silent- the weather couldn't be better for what we had in mind. If fear would keep them away from Izzie, then fear we would use.

Venus came to a halt under a stone angel. The statue had her hands over her face, long hair draped over her shoulders. Essentially, Venus was standing under a replica of herself- this was the memorial Aphrodite had paid an obscene amount of money for after Venus didn't make the Change a year ago.

Even though I spent 90% of my time with the girl, at this moment she was scaring the crap out of me. We waited, on edge, gazing at her standing there behind the Cullens.

She must have spoken, because they whipped around crazy- fast. She lifted her head and Stevie Rae put a hand against the window. In reaction to her High Priestess' call, Venus' crescent began glowing. Aphrodite laughed appreciatively as several of the Cullens took a step back.

"Nice touch," She murmured.

Venus spoke again- we saw her mouth move- then turned and began walking the path parallel to the school. I leaned forward, and sure enough, one of them spotted it.

We watched as one of them walked over and rubbed the writing on the stone, words chosen by Aphrodite. Their reaction would have been enough to make me laugh if the reason wasn't so sombre.

None of us liked that tomb. Reading one of your friend's names on a stone angel and imagining the empty coffin below the ground isn't exactly pleasant.

Finally, the Cullens began following Venus.

I turned to look at Izzie. She stared at them for a moment longer before glancing around at us.

"I don't think he can read your minds," She said quietly. "Or he would have looked over."

Erin and Shaunee smiled. "Good."

"C'mon, guys." I clapped my hands together. "We need to get to the Main Hall."

They trailed after me as I walked the halls to the sweeping staircase. We arranged ourselves at the bottom, Izzie moving to the back. I smiled at her as she squeezed next to Aphrodite.

Venus walked in, brushing back her windblown hair. We didn't say a word, but she nodded as she took her place on the other side of Aphrodite, at the back. I turned my attention to the door. It opened, and I got my first up- close glimpse of the Cullens.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Rewritten.**_

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><p>The Cullens entered the building after Venus, looking around in interest as they did so. After a second, all eyes focused on Zoey, who was stood apart and in front of the others.<p>

"You must be Carlisle."

Carlisle nodded and stepped towards her, holding out a hand. She shook it briefly.

"And you are?" He asked politely.

"Zoey Redbird. I'm in training as the High Priestess of this House of Night, as well as the wielder of the element Spirit, under the Goddess Nyx's guidance."

"Ah, yes," Carlisle murmured, eyes alight. "I've heard all about you. And so these must be…" He trailed off as he looked behind her.

"The Dark Daughters and Sons of Tulsa- or, for a shorter way to say it, Children of the Moon. Stevie Rae, with Earth. Damien Maslin, with Air. Shaunee Cole, with Fire, and her unbiological twin, Erin Bates, with Water." One by one, they nodded at the Cullens, perfectly still and closed off. The Cullens, at this point, were torn between admiration and slight fear of the powers the teenagers held. Then there was Tanya, who was openly scornful.

Zoey continued. "Our Son of Erebus warrior, Darius. Jack and Erik, two close and extremely talented friends, both of which have been blessed by Nyx. And the unbiological triplets." The group parted. The Cullens shifted as the atmosphere grew tense and full of electricity. Zoey continued in a smooth yet strangely powerful tone. "Aphrodite, our Prophet. Venus, Red Fledgling and emotion manipulator… and Isabella Davis, the group Healer."

The reaction was instantaneous. Edward snapped his jaw closed and stumbled back as Tanya leaned forward, hissing. Esme and Alice gasped and stumbled towards Izzie as if to embrace her, but caught themselves after a step. Carlisle went paler than before, as did Emmett, and Jasper and Rosalie's eyes went huge.

The fledglings, however, didn't move. Positioned so the Cullens had a clear view of the three blondes at the back, they gazed at the vampires, seemingly unconcerned at the effect they were having.

"Bella-"

"Izzie." Aphrodite was having trouble hiding her contempt for the Cullens- not that she was trying, Zoey guessed.

Carlisle faltered. "..Izzie," He repeated quietly, not taking his eyes off of Izzie, who was gazing at him with dark, expressionless eyes.

Tanya was radiating hostility. Apparently she wasn't pleased with the competition; Bella Swan, the gawky teenager, had disappeared. The ugly duckling had transformed and Izzie Davis was an elegant swan in a short pleated skirt, fitted black blouse, black high heeled pumps and shining white hair with deep blue tips. Her dark eyes turned to Tanya and her eyebrow jerked up.

Tanya took another step forward.

Zoey intervened, stepping in front of the three expressionless girls. As if on cue, the group reformed to hide Izzie, faces carefully blank. Zoey spoke softly.

"Your temporary room is in the teacher's wing; Darius will escort you there until you've decided where you would like to stay on a regular basis. The room will have everything you require, and animal blood is being held for your convenience. You can expect one of us to come and see you in about an hour, after which Lenobia will be available to meet with you. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here at the Tulsa House of Night and if you have any queries, don't hesitate to ask."

With that, she turned and glided to the door leading outside, followed by her equally elegant and graceful group. They formed to surround Izzie as they passed, leaving no way for the Cullens to catch another glimpse. Darius beckoned to the Cullens and began leading them up the stairs.

"Follow me to your rooms," He said. "You must be… tired."


	7. Chapter 7

**_Rewritten._**

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper's POV<strong>

I was in shock.

Images of Bella- wait, Izzie- danced around my mind like before-and-after shots of a makeover. Nothing about her had remained the same. Even though she hadn't spoken, hadn't moved, hadn't reacted, it was so obvious that the Bella I had seen as a sister was gone completely.

Thing is, I didn't know if that was bad or not.

Because on the one hand, she was obviously every father's worst nightmare. The makeup, the bitchy pose, bitchy expression, the impossibly short skirt, the 'popular' friends, she bleached hair. Who would wish that kind of life on somebody?

But on the other… she seemed so confident now. There was no more stuttering, blushing, flicky- eyes Bella. No more stumbling, no more nervous laughter. She had friends who obviously cared a great deal, she had confidence in herself and she had (according to her introduction via Zoey) a new power as a 'Healer', whatever _that _was.

But it didn't matter if it was a good thing or not, really, because either way it was all my fault.

And there didn't seem to be any way to fix it.

* * *

><p><strong>Rosalie's POV<strong>

"Holy crap."

I looked up as Alice entered the room I had chosen with Emmett. She threw herself across the double bed and I repositioned myself in the armchair I was seated on.

"That was… wow." Alice said, staring at the ceiling. I nodded.

"I didn't see that one coming."

"Me neither." Alice looked up at me. "Literally didn't see it coming. I can't see them. Edward can't hear them. Jasper can touch them emotionally, though. But as far as future and thoughts are concerned, they're like brick walls."

"More like electric fences," I muttered. "That Aphrodite girl looked ready to bite."

"She was protecting B- Izzie. Did you see the way they were acting around her? Like she's some sort of treasure."

"A 'Healer'," I said. "Do you know what that is? I don't."

"No. Guess we'll find-"

At that moment, the door was opened and Tanya stalked in. She looked furious. For a moment, I felt smug; anything that pissed off Tanya made me happy.

"Did you _see _the length of her _skirt_?"

Alice looked at me and I raised an eyebrow. Tanya was, at that moment, wearing what could be mistaken as a belt. Difference between her and Izzie being that Izzie had the legs for it.

"Who does she think she _is_? And none of this 'Izzie' bullshit. _Izzie Davis_. What is _that_?"

"They change their names a lot," Alice said quietly. "A fresh start as a fledgling."

Tanya snorted. "Pathetic."

"Understandable." I corrected. They looked at me; I explained. "I changed my name to Cullen because I didn't want to be Rosalie Hale, The Rich Girl, anymore. Everybody deserves a second chance after they fuck up."

"Bella didn't fuck up." Alice sounded surprisingly heated.

"Really? So why were you so eager to diss her?" Tanya said, eyes glinting with barely contained malice. Both Alice and I looked away, ashamed.

Thing is, we didn't know.

But I had an idea.

_Jasper._

* * *

><p><strong>Venus' POV<strong>

"Well that was enlightening."

I looked at Aphrodite sceptically. "How so?"

"I was enlightened."

Aphrodite, Izzie and I were walking to Dragon's office, where we would pick up the Cullens' timetables and information papers. It was half past three in the morning, The air was freezing and the night dark, but the wind had no effect on our skin as we crossed the courtyard.

"Yeah," I persisted, "But how were you enlightened?"

"Well, for one thing, I suspect foul play as far as their reactions were concerned about the Mark."

Izzie looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Think about how most of them acted like you were Jesus making a guest appearance on BBC's Big Question. If they had ever felt disgust as strong as you described they wouldn't have looked at you like that just now. Also, Gingernut looked at the blonde one like he wanted to kill him. The blonde one is the emotional jackpot, yeah? I think Edward was waiting for the blonde to do something to somebody's emotions and he wasn't doing it."

Izzie and I drew to a halt. Aphrodite carried on walking to the other building and Izzie and I stared after her in silence.

"She does _not _get enough credit." I said flatly.

Izzie looked shell shocked, and I patted her shoulder. "We'll figure it out. Until then, let's go pick up these timetables then get a coffee. Alright?"

Izzie nodded slowly. "Right."

* * *

><p><strong>Aphrodite's POV<strong>

Dragon was pleased to see us (so what else is new? Teachers love us) and hee handed over the timetables instantly. Fifteen minutes later we sat on a bench in an indoor garden with mugs of hot coffee in our hands, Izzie and I keeping a look out as Venus pulled out her cigarettes. As a fledgling, smoking was prohibited.

As Venus, smoking was compulsory.

She cursed in some pretty impressive tongues as her lighter flicked out. Izzie sighed loudly as Venus shook it violently.

"You were going to get a new one."

Venus gave her a dirty look and continued to shake it. Just then, Shaunee wandered by with Erin. She stopped by the bench. "Do you know where the timetables are?"

Izzie handed them over, and then Venus popped out from between us, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth. She gave Shaunee a hopeful look. Shaunee rolled her eyes and flicked her finger; Venus' cigarette burst in to flame and then died down to a cherry tip. She leaned back behind Izzie, inhaled, blew the smoke elsewhere, and turned back to Shaunee. "You," She said, pointing at her with the cigarette, "Are a lifesaver."

Shaunee laughed and walked off with Erin. I looked at Venus and shook my head in mock disappointment. "They'll lead you to an early grave."

"Well it's not too far to walk. Just outside, in fact." She replied. Izzie laughed, then sipped her coffee and stretched. "Do you think Zoey's going to want us to help out with the Cullens?"

"Nah. Nothing for us to do until tomorrow, anyway."

She nodded absently and wrapped her arms around herself. I sat back down next to her, and Venus sat on her other side, holding the cigarette out of sight behind us.

"What are you thinking, Izzie?" I asked quietly.

She stayed quiet for a while, then; "Thinking about what you said. About them not really hating me. About… us being… friends again."

Venus took a drag and shook her head slowly. "That's not wise. Not him."

"No, not him. But the others. Like, Carlisle, Esme, Alice. They were family to me when my own family was useless or on the other side of the USA."

I sighed, gazing across at the tall plants surrounding us, the rain pattering on the glass ceiling. "Izzie, if he apologised, what would you do?"

Izzie didn't reply for a long time. When she did, her voice was sad, almost a whisper.

"I honestly don't know."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey, guys.**_

_**I've gone through and rewritten this whole thing. Details have been changed/added, as have little scenes, so if I were you I'd read through it before continuing. I'm so sorry about the delay but I'm back now, hopefully for good. Love to you all. xo**_

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper's POV<strong>

He didn't knock before he entered.

I didn't expect him to. Why would he? Common courtesy wasn't a concept he was familiar with, as proven by his general attitude towards social situations.

He came to stand in front of me. I was alone in the room- Alice was with Rosalie- and I stood to face him. I wasn't scared of him, just… threatened. By what he could do, what he could say, about me and my past. Things even I was shocked at. Things that could lose me my family and love in one fell swoop.

"You didn't do anything," He said, without preamble.

"What could I have done?"

"What you did last time."

No. "I'm not doing that again."

"No, you're not. It's too late for that now. What you _are _going to do is see to it that _'Izzie' _shows nothing but contempt towards any and every member of this family bar me for the duration of this stay."

"I wouldn't need to worry about you, Edward." I spat, stepping forward. "As far as you're concerned, contempt is all she's capable of feeling."

He matched my movement, bringing our noses inches away. I was taller, but he was quicker, and I didn't want to fight him.

"Well then you shouldn't have any problems, should you?"

I backed down, weariness overcoming me. "Why are you doing this, Edward? Why not let it go? She's a fledgling, you're over each other. Just give _up."_

"I'm not letting her fuck things up for me, Jasper. You think the rest of them don't suspect something? They do. Carlisle knows I had something to do with the reactions the day she got that _thing_." He scowled. "But he also knows _you _had something to do with it. The last thing I need is her getting between me and the family, it's fragile enough what with Tanya- so I suggest you do what I want you to do and we keep this nice and simple, understand? Izzie hates them, they leave her alone, we go back to Forks and forget about her for good so I can move on with my life and pretend I never fell in love with that _thing_."

I was shocked at the hatred in his voice. He slammed out of the room before I had a chance to retaliate and I slumped back on the bed.

There was nothing I could do to get out of this. Any possible solution was too risky for the relationships I had in the family. As much as I missed Be- Izzie, I loved Alice more.

Sighing, I resigned myself to what I was going to have to do, before leaning back and closing my eyes in an attempt to block out the world for a while.

* * *

><p><strong>Stevie Rae's POV<strong>

"Really, you would think nobody told you I was your High Priestess!" I snapped. Venus just gazed at me, face blank. I continued, waving my arms about in the hope it would make a more impressive point. "You need to learn to _listen _to me, V! As Red Fledglings we're treated with suspicion enough as it is, we don't need you makin' things harder than they are!"

"Oh, puh-lease. I am _such _a scapegoat."

My jaw hit the ground. "Sca-? Venus, you _threw her in to a goddamn tree!"_

Venus stared at me, unimpressed. "Another Earth- shattering revelation from Captain Obvious. Can you give me my fags back now, or do I have to indulge in botanical fisticuffs with you as well?"

I made what sounded in my head like a noise of frustration but came out more as an impression of a car hitting oil. Rubbing my curls, I glanced back over at the unconscious Shania Edwards, who was still lying under the blossom tree in the indoor garden.

The anger bubbled up again and I whirled back to face the arrogant blonde girl I called my 'friend', but she exhaled smoke in my face before I could start again. Blinked, momentarily confused. She was holding a cigarette loosely in one hand, other hand placed on her hip, watching me with heavy- lidded eyes.

"How'd you get them?" I demanded. I could have sworn they were in my hand two seconds ago. "And stop smoking! You might die! _Again_!"

Before she could come up with some anecdote about her experiences with death and how 'fucking cliché' they were, I turned, pausing to point at Shania- ('Get her to the med room!')- and stormed out. I paced through the school for a bit, trying to calm down. I wasn't even that angry with V. Fuck knows, that cow Shania deserves all the pain she gets. It was more the presence of the Cullens. Having yet another type of Vampire, on top of blue fledglings, red fledglings and fully- grown Vampyres, in the school was unnerving. I couldn't put my guard down in case one of my red fledglings tried something funny, which wouldn't surprise me.

In all, the Cullens had been here all of two hours and they were already making me suicidal. I had no idea how Izzie had lasted so long.

Speaking of whom, she seemed to be dealing okay. I had expected her to have attempted to murder and/or fuck Edward by now, considering what she had told me of their past, but all she had shown was a cool ambivalence towards the whole coven. Then again, Aphrodite and Venus would be more familiar with what she was _actually _feeling than any of the rest of us.

I could only hope she would stay this calm when she found out that she and Stark were the ones giving them a tour of the school tomorrow.

At that moment, Stark rounded the corner in front of me. I skipped to catch up with him.

"You've been quiet lately," I accused. He gave me an absent smile.

"Sorry, Officer."

I shoved him, but laughed. Anyway, I knew the reason he had been quiet.

Ever since Erik and Z had hooked back up (after a major personality transformation from Erik and a lot of second chances from Zoey), Stark had started spending more time with Izzie. Shooting was their thing; they spent most of their time with bows and arrows. And as a High Priestess with the ability to read his mind, I just so happened to know about the crush he was harbouring toward her, and the jealousy as far as Edward was concerned.

"You have no competition, you know," I said matter- of- factly. "99% chance she'd kiss you if you ever let her know how you felt."

He didn't try to deny it. Instead, he pointed out the obvious, something I was prone to miss. "Tell her I love her, right as her ex- boyfriend who meant the world to her for two years shows up? I don't know about you but to me that spells insensitive, arrogant asshole."

I sighed. "Better an arrogant asshole than a sparkly heartbreaker."

"Better a sparkly heartbreaker than a dead fledgling with a couple of arrows and an inability to put his emotions in to words."

I looked at him seriously. "Stark, I know for a fact that if it came down to it, she would pick arrows and messy words over sparkles and Paris- sized egos any day of the week."


	9. Chapter 9

**Making up for lost time here. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Stevie Rae's POV<strong>

"Wait just one goddamn minute. What do you mean, tour of the House?"  
>I put my hands up in a don't shoot the messenger type way, but going by the look on Izzie's face, if she had a gun I would've been long gone by now. "You and Stark," I said slowly, "Have to give the Cullens the tour of the House and grounds. Hey," I called as she turned to walk away. "Hey, that's not my fault, Dragon organised it..."<br>But she didn't go far. Just far enough to punch a dent in the wall and then come back.  
>"No." She said decisively.<br>Ah. The voice of reason.  
>"Izzie," Aphrodite said from the corner of mine and Z's dorm, where she was inspecting my Tom Jones collection with a wrinkled nose, "Look at it logically, here's no way to get out of it. Sooner you accept this, sooner we can work on what you're wearing, and I think we should put crimson red in your hair."<br>I looked back at Izzie. She blinked, shrugged, and turned to the door.  
>"Alright. Maybe if we get started now I can get three deep conditions in to it before we dye."<br>Aphrodite followed her, stopping to smirk triumphantly at me.  
>I could have spent hours trying to persuade Izzie to do it and she wouldn't have agreed, yet the minute Aphrodite mentions hair dye she's all for it. Un-fricken-believable.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Next Morning<strong>

**Stark's POV**  
>Izzie arrived at last, not seeming to be in any great hurry. She sauntered over, fiddling with the bottom of her pleated mini skirt. "Hey, Stark."<br>"Alright, gorgeous?" I gave her the grin that sent most girls over the edge. She rewarded me a smile that sped up my heart.  
>We made small talk as we waited for the Cullens- weighing up the pros and cons of wooden bows as opposed to metal ones; complaining about the new targets, which, we agreed, were made for five year olds; oh, and Erin wants you to help choose a birthday present for Venus.<br>It was small talk, but it meant more to me than a two hour, in depth conversation with Nyx about my abilities. This girl had no idea about the effect she had on me.  
>The Cullens came around the corner then, and her face closed off. I turned to face the people responsible for taking the light out of her eyes. They didn't initiate conversation at first- too busy staring at Izzie, who was gazing at the wall next to her head- so I spoke.<br>"My name's James Stark, but you'll call me Stark or I won't reply. This tour's scheduled to last about an hour and we have classes today so let's get a move on." I wasn't even going to try and act polite with them. They didn't deserve any hospitality on our part.

I turned to Izzie. "Start here and end outside the grounds, yeah?"

She pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning on. "Sounds good."

With one last glance at her, I turned and began walking. "We'll start," I said, boredom lacing my tone, "With the Dining Hall."

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper's POV<strong>

Edward kept staring at me.

Neither of us was listening to Stark's hurried explanations of the different rooms, histories and facts about the House of Night. Edward was too busy trying to get my attention, and I was too busy trying to ignore him.

Eventually, he manoeuvred himself so him and I were at the back of the group. I narrowed my eyes. _No._

"Don't be a fool, Jasper," He breathed, so quietly that even the rest of our family took no notice. I explained, in my head, why I hadn't taken action yet.

_She's not even looking at us, let alone speaking to us. There's no point in making her feel anger towards us now and started an argument._

Edward had to agree; I saw it in his eyes. He wouldn't want any communication passing between Izzie and us until it was necessary.

* * *

><p><strong>Stark's POV<strong>

We were forty minutes in and standing on the second floor staircase. I was explaining to Carlisle the origin of one of our statues of Nyx, positioned in a cubby hole off the stairs, and Izzie hadn't yet said a word.

And then we saw her.

Surrounded by scared fledglings- about twenty of them- lying on the floor in a pool of blood, the black- haired girl looked, on first glance, dead. I felt my body freeze.

Not this. Not now. Not another fledgling failing the Change.

Izzie hadn't seen it yet, was standing behind the Cullens, all of whom were following my gaze. I stumbled forward then turned my head. "Izzie," I said quietly.

She stepped forward.

We all saw as her face went pale and her dark eyes widened. For a minute I thought she was going to do nothing, but then she ran forwards, dropping to her knees beside the girl. I followed, brought back to reality by her sudden movements, landed next to her on my knees, felt the Cullens moving closer and watching in mute shock. The crowd stepped back as Izzie rolled the girl over, heedless of the blood. She froze, her hair blocking my view, then breathed out a gust of relieved air.

"She's not dead," She announced quietly. "She's not failed the Change. She's...I think she snapped her arm."

There were a few groans of disgust from the group around us. I saw the blonde doctor vamp shift out of the corner of my eye, and his wife put a hand on his arm as if to restrain him.

Izzie put her hands on the girl's arm and closed her eyes.

The fledglings around us leaned closer to stare. Izzie's Mark started to glow, as if Nyx was alive inside of her. As we watched, silent and sill, the girl's arm began to move, the bone fading back into skin. The blood flow slowed, then stopped. Izzie wrapped her hands around the cut entirely, closed her eyes, stopped for a moment, and then took her hands away.

The arm was fixed. Apart from dried blood, there wasn't even a scratch. Around us, the fledglings broke in to scattered laughter and applause, then wandered off, talking about Izzie admiringly.

They were used to this. This was Izzie's gift, as a Healer. Izzie stood up as a boy stepped forward.

"Take her to the Med room," Izzie instructed, wiping her hands on her skirt, "And clean off her arm."

The boy nodded, scooped the girl up and strode off. We were left standing in the dried blood, the Cullens staring at Izzie as if she had two heads.

"Stark," Izzie said quietly, "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" I asked instantly. If a Dark Daughter expressed a bad feeling about a situation, we all listened. Izzie bit her lip and looked at me.

"We're in the middle of a flat hallway. There are no stairs to fall down or ledges to trip over. That girl had no outstanding power she could have injured herself with. So how was she unconscious with a bone sticking halfway out of her arm?"

I blinked. "Foul play?"

Izzie looked away, face troubled. "I think so."

"We'll talk to Zoey later. Until then-"

"What the _hell _was that?"

Izzie and I turned to stare at the vampire who had spoken.

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper's POV<strong>

I had never seen anything like it. The girl's arm had been healed in less than two minutes from an injury that should take more than two months to fix. I had stood with my mouth open, fascinated and appalled, as Izzie wrapped her hands around the bloody lump of skin and bone and recreated it, smooth and good as new.

As Izzie and Stark stood up, I moved back and hid my wonder.

_Foul play_.

I swallowed as they spoke the words, and then-

"What the _hell _was that?"

Tanya.

She was looking at Izzie with obvious disgust, but I could feel her fear. Izzie and Stark gazed at her for a moment, then Izzie turned away and Stark stepped forward.

"That," He snarled, "Was Izzie Davis curing a stranger's pain. And _this_," He gestured around at the dried blood, "Is something that never would have happened until you arrived, because fledglings don't tend to try and _kill _each other _off_. So why don't you tell _me _what this is?"

Edward moved in front of Tanya, teeth bared, but Stark just looked more furious. I saw Izzie turn, eyes wide and confused.

"What are you saying?" She demanded of Stark.

He glanced away from Edward to her. "Would it be such a shock if they _did _do it?" He said angrily. Izzie looked from Stark to Edward to Carlisle, her mouth opening, bewilderment and denial flashing across her face. Edward snapped his jaw, looked at me, and I sent a huge gust of hatred at her.

Her eyes went cold, mouth curled. She rested her eyes on Carlisle. His face was pleading, hers was disgusted.

"Actually," She said in a voice so ugly I wasn't sure it was hers, "I wouldn't be surprised. Fucking _freaks_."

Even Stark looked shocked at this, but it was nothing on everybody else. I felt guilt overwhelm me as my family reacted to her words with hurt, regret, pain, self hatred. Izzie whirled around and stalked off, followed by Stark, who snarled one last time at Edward before running after her.

And we were left. My family, furious with their actions.

Edward, furious at Stark.

Me, furious at myself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Izzie's POV**

"No."

My answer to Aphrodite's yelling through the bathroom door only seemed to infuriate her more.

"Yes! Let me in, damnit!"

I was sitting on the bathroom floor, head in my hands. My emotions were in complete and utter turmoil. I needed Venus here- she had an affinity with much the same effect as Jasper's apart from that she could only manipulate, not feel other people's emotions herself unless she was physically touching them- to sort me out.

I didn't know what had happened.

One minute I was focused entirely on Stark and the fact that somebody hurt a Fledgling (which is a crime in itself; Fledglings are fragile enough, without losing the blood and strength they need to make the Change) and the next all I could feel was total hatred for the Cullens. I had never felt something as- as _violent _as that in my entire life. I could have gladly hurt them all in that instant.

But it was the look of surprise on Stark's face at what I had said that made me walk away.

I felt like a monster. I didn't even know I hated them quite that much- and the look on Esme and Carlisle's faces...

I let out a sob.

"Izzie! Fucking _hell_, let me the fuck _in_!"

"Piss off, Aphrodite!" My voice caught as I snapped the words out. I heard her let out a frustrated snarl and storm out of the dormitory, leaving me in silence.

Maybe if I knew where the hatred was I could do something about it. Not forgive the Cullens, no, but expel the ugly feelings about them that I had. But the thing was I didn't _know _where the emotion was. Even the day they abandoned me to help myself, I didn't feel quite that strongly about them. Sure, I hated Edward, but not to that extent.

Shit.

"I'm a horrible person," I whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>Aphrodite's POV<strong>

It didn't take me long to find V. She was with the other Red Fledglings in the stone basement, where they always held their little meetings.

I knew enough to wait for a gap in the conversation before I interrupted. Because- and only because- Venus was one, I respected them enough for that.

Stark was speaking. "I don't think so, no. I don't think there's anybody in the House to hurt a Fledgling in that state."

"What do you mean, state?" Stevie Rae asked.

Dallas spoke. He had his hand entwined with hers; I almost vommed at the Bumpkin love. "She was nearing her Change. Any injury to her at this point could kill her. She needs all the blood she has, if not more, and as healthy a body as she can muster."

There was a pause as the Red Fledglings digested this.

"Venus."

She looked over from her leaning point against the stone wall behind Stevie Rae. They all turned to look at me. They respected me, to- they had to. I saved their Priestesses life.

"Izzie's locked in again," I said to Venus. She understood immediately, her eyes widening.

Izzie had locked herself in that bathroom three times. The first when her split with Edward sunk in. The second when she tasted blood for the first time and enjoyed it. The third when her mother ended the relationship between them.

Without a word, Venus pushed herself off the wall and walked past me to the stairs. Stevie Rae looked at me for a minute, showing her concern for Izzie in her eyes. I nodded and took off after Venus, who was already way ahead of me.

I caught up to her.

"What happened?"

I explained in short sentences about Izzie's confusion at her own reaction to the Cullens, ending with "She thinks she's a monster,". Venus shook her hair out of her eyes and reached in the back pocket of her micro shorts for her lighter and a fag. By this point, our long strides had taken us to the door of our room.

Venus lit up as we went in. She didn't even bother with condolences, just kicked out at the bathroom door. Her Red Fledgling strength sent it slamming into the wall and back again; opening it more gently this time, Venus walked in. I leaned on the cracked door frame as she crouched next to Izzie, who hadn't budged.

Venus placed a hand on Izzie's back. She took a drag of her cigarette, paused, exhaled and removed her hand.

"Jesus, girl," She commented amiably, "That's some hatred you got going there."

Izzie let out a sob.

Venus collapsed back on her ass next to her, and I moved over to join them as Venus continued.

"I do have some good news. Well, not good as such. Just interesting. Well, not majorly interesting, either, just something odd."

Izzie raised puffy eyes to Venus, who exhaled a cloud of smoke in my face. I waved a hand, rolling my eyes. "Keep the cancer on your side of the room, please."

"Whatever. Anyway. That anger you were feeling wasn't normal. It was..." She flapped a hand around as she searched for the word. "Hazy."

"Hazy?" Izzie and I questioned at the same time. Venus nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Hazy. Strange. It was strong, extremely strong, but... _muffled_, almost. I don't know. I'll look in to it later. Later being after we've finished the sushi."

Izzie looked confused. I nodded and stood up, clapping my hands briskly.

"Isabella Davis, I don't believe you've accompanied us beautiful beings thus far to the Sushi Restaurant down the road. Therefore, slap some eyeliner and foundation on and brush your hair. We are going to enjoy the delights of raw fish and low fat rice while we bitch to our heart's content."

Izzie stared at us both for a minute, then shakily pushed her hair back and stood up as well. "Do it."

* * *

><p><strong>Venus' POV<strong>

"Something's not right."

Aphrodite and Izzie looked at me, waiting. We were taking a pause from the sushi while we waited for our wine to be refilled.

"The emotions you felt. I think I cracked it, but it doesn't make _sense_."

Aphrodite twisted her mouth, confused. "Cracked what?"

I paused, tapping my fingers on the table, trying to figure out how to word my suspicions without angering or hurting Izzie. "I think... I think Jasper made you feel that hatred."

Izzie instantly shook her head. "He wouldn't do that."

I held up a finger. "How do you know?"

Izzie bit her lip and began to talk, but I cut her off."Let's look at the past: Edward was your world, and you were his. You were perfect, a match made in heaven, blah blah blah. But then you got Marked and _bam_, he did a full 180 and turned into the dick of all dicks. How do you know they're not all double- sided?"

Aphrodite glanced between us as Izzie dropped her eyes to the table.

"I don't," Izzie murmured after a pause. "But... I don't think he would have a reason to do that."

"You said he nearly killed you. Maybe he was angry you pushed him that far. Maybe his ego was hurt. Or maybe he just didn't want a human in the family, and this was his excuse to turn them against you."

"Hold up." Aphrodite leaned over the table to speak, but the waiter arrived and began pouring the wine. We waited impatiently as he finished, and she opened her mouth again. "So you're saying Jasper manipulated them. Does that include Edward?"

I hadn't thought of that.

We gazed at each other wordlessly, then turned to Izzie. She had a hand over her mouth, and her eyes were huge.

"Izzie, this is just a hunch, okay? I'm not saying it's definite. I'm not saying he still, like... you know."

Izzie looked at me and gave a hard laugh. "It wouldn't matter. I don't love _him _either way. Still. I... I just don't see Jasper doing something like that. He was always _angry _in a way, like, sad anger. But not spiteful. He was never spiteful. The only times I spoke to him he was always so _sweet_."

I nodded slowly, slumping back in my chair. There was something I was missing, something crucial.

I just didn't know what it was.


	11. Chapter 11

**Venus**

It was ten minutes until first period began when Zoey burst into the room, looking even more stressed than she usually did. I turned to her, mascara brush still hovering about an inch away from my face. "Don't bother knocking, it's okay, not like privacy is a basic human right or any-"

"Aphrodite's gone after the Cullens."

I felt my mouth drop open. "_What_?"

Zoey threw her hands in the air. "I don't even know! She said she's going to kick his ass!"

"Which one?"

"Does it _matter_?"

"Yes! If it's Edward, I need to go rally up the support troops! Fucker deserves it!"

"_Venus_! We can't let her go after them, they're ten times as strong as she is!"

Izzie walked in at that moment. She looked between Zoey and me, eyes wide. "What's going on?"

"Aphrodite's gone to kick some Cullen ass," I said, "Armed with nought but some eyeliner and her cutting wit."

Izzie seemed to have the same reaction as Zoey- as in, freaking out. "_What_?" She yelped.

"What's the big deal? Jesus, about time somebody deflated their egos-"

"Venus, they're a hundred times stronger than her! _They can snap bones like twigs_!"

I lowered my mascara brush as I caught up to what was actually going on. Aphrodite- eighteen year old, all-too-fragile Aphrodite- was hunting down a coven of vampires.

"Shit."

* * *

><p><strong>Aphrodite<strong>

It didn't take me long to track down the Cullen's timetables- Stevie Rae had left her bag unguarded while she hunted in the kitchen for Cheerios, and they were in my hands before she even had time to pull her head out the cupboard. According to the schedules, they should be in their rooms. That was fine; I didn't need an audience for this.

I hadn't slept at all last night, Venus' words running through my head. The more I thought about what they had done to Izzie, the angrier I got. Images were moving through my head like a never-ending slide show- Izzie, crashing her car into the wall when she first arrived. Izzie, carried from the wreckage by Darius, limp and trembling. Izzie, mute, lying in the infirmary for a month after she had arrived while we watched for any special talents she might have that would forge her membership as a Dark Daughter. Izzie, reaching out to Damien after he twisted his wrist in Fencing and healing the bone with ease.

Izzie, opening up her absent mother, her ignorant father, her lonely childhood, her first real family... and their betrayal.

Izzie- funny, compassionate, loyal, incredible Izzie- being treated like dog shit and feeling _guilty _about it afterwards.

I stormed up the stairs towards the guest rooms, my fury building. I didn't quite know what I was going to do when I got there, but somebody was going to get hurt, and it wasn't going to be me.

And then something cold hit my stomach, and I was falling.

* * *

><p><strong>Stark<strong>

By the time I reached the infirmary, the news had already spread around the school- half an hour ago, Aphrodite had been found unconscious, bleeding from a head wound. Big news spread like wildfire, after all, and it certainly _was _big news.

Endless possibilities span through my mind about what I was going to find when I saw her. We weren't exactly best friends, but we were close enough that I was flipping out even before I joined the group of my friends crowded around the bed at the end of the room.

I pushed through the twins, Jack, Damien, and Erik, coming to a halt in between Stevie Rae and Zoey.

Izzie and Darius sat on either side of the bed, Izzie holding a hand to Aphrodite's head while Darius clenched one of her elegant hands in his own huge one. Venus stood over Izzie, her face impassive but her eyes burning holes in Aphrodite's unconscious face. There was a bandage wrapped around Aphrodite's forehead, and I felt bile filling my mouth as I caught sight of the blood stains spreading from under Izzie's hand.

Turning away from the motionless girl on the bed, I looked at Izzie and broke the silence. "What happened?"

There was a pause before Jack turned to stare at a hovering Matron, who got the hint and scuttled away. Zoey ran a hand through her hair, stress showing through her composure. "A new kid came running up half an hour ago when we were looking for her, said she was lying outside Nyx's temple. It seems as though she feel down the stairs."

"Why were you looking for her?"

"She went after the Cullens."

I didn't need to ask why. Venus had filled me in on her theories about Izzie's run in with the Cullens earlier on, and everybody knew how fiercely protective the two were of Izzie. "Okay," I said, "So what _actually _happened?"

"Well she didn't fall down any stairs, that's for damn sure," Stevie Rae interjected. "She's never even stumbled in eleven-inch heels."

Damien nodded. "Plus, there's no reason she'd be outside the temple."

Venus looked up, her face twisted in undisguised fury. "She went after the Cullens, she's found five minutes later bleeding across the school from their rooms. Not fucking rocket science, is it?"

Izzie let out a muffled whimper, her hand jerking on Aphroite's wound. We all gazed at her as she turned her head to look despondantly at Venus. "They didn't do this, they wouldn't-"

Venus let out a frustrated snarl."For fuck's _sake_, Izzie, stop glorifying them! They've changed, why _wouldn't _they do this?" Izzie snapped her head back around, hiding behind her hair, but Venus carried on. "The pyshic bitch probably saw her coming and they planned a nice little welcome party for her, they'll be laughing away in their rooms right now-"

"Venus," Stevie Rae broke in.

"-and this isn't the first person they've tried to take out- Jesus, they're probably just here so they can kill us all off, they made it perfectly clear what they think of Fledglings, after all-"

"_Venus! Enough!_" Stevie Rae grabbed Venus' arm and yanked her away from Izzie, whos shoulders were shaking. Iwent to cruch beside her, pulling her close while Stevie Rae disappeared with Venus in tow.

"She didn't mean that, Izzie," Zoey murmured.

"Doesn't matter if she meant it. It's probably true." Izzie sounded so heart-broken that I flnched back before hugging her tighter. "And now," she continued in a strangled voice, "Now Aphrodite's knocked out and God knows if she's ever going to wake up and if I'd just opened my eyes I could-"

"Don't you dare say that." Darius had looked up, his eyes burning. "She _is _going to wake up, and it is _not _your fault." Izzie began to protest, but he cut her off. "Have you ever seen Aphrodite do the expected? If she was given a day to live she'd still be kicking in fifty years. She's going to be fine, and we're going to sort this mess out before it gets messier." He spoke with the tone of a true Erebus warrior, and I nodded along, clenching Izzie close.

"It's gonna be okay." Shaunee sounded certain, and Erin looked just as determined. "Doesn't matter who did it. 'S like we always said, you want one of us, you're gonna have to get through the rest of us to get to her, and in doing so basically commit suicide. I mean, who's about to take on the elements, a Healer, a couple of Warriors, two gay guys and... well, and Venus?"

"She's right," Erin added. "_I _wouldn't go up against Venus. Bitch'd drown me in my own waterfall."

* * *

><p><em>Three hours later<em>

**Izzie**

I barely looked up from Aphrodite's face as the Matron cleared her throat. "Is it okay if somebody joins you?"

I shrugged. It didn't make any difference to me. After everybody else left, I hadn't moved from beside the bed, not even to pull my hand away from Aphrodite's head, though I'd long since done all the Healing I could.

But then a melodious voice rang out from behind me, subdued and nervous. "B-Izzie. Can I sit down?"

I froze, eyes widening on Aphrodite's peaceful expression.

It was Esme.


	12. Chapter 12

**Edward**

I didn't look up when Carlisle came in. I heard him coming, of course- in more ways than one- but recently I had been trying to block out my adoptive father's mind; when it came to me, his recent thoughts were usually centered around disappointment and sadness.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

He sighed and sat down, two completely unnessascary actions for a vampire. I gritted my teeth. This human facade really got on my nerves, especially when it wasn't needed.

"It must be strange, not hearing anybody's thoughts." Carlisle sounded interested. I shrugged.

"More annoying than anything else. I keep getting static sounds in my head."

Emmett, who was in the en-suite bathroom doing his hair, sniggered.

_Nothing new there._

I growled slightly- his 'humuorous' thoughts didn't strike me as funny these days, and it was said with a touch of resentment anyway. Yes, Emmett definitely didn't like me much anymore.

"I wonder why? Maybe it's something to do with how the Mark alters their minds. They're definitely more reasonable than humans- the ones that I've spoken to, anyway-" Carlisle broke off, Bella's most recent words flashing through his mind. I snarled, looking at him for the first time, and found- for the first time since after _she _left- anger on his usually calm face. "Edward," He began, voice holding back the irritation in his thoughts. "I am fully aware that this is hard for you, but it's about time you-"

The door slammed open, and we turned to see Alice, shaken and stiff. Jasper was right behind her, his mouth turned down at the corners. I quickly scanned Alice's mind and forgot about my annoyance at Carlisle.

"What is it?" Emmett popped his head around the door, and then flitted over to Alice's side. "What, have you seen something?"

"No." Alice shook her head slowly. "I didn't see this."

"Alice, what happened?" Carlisle stood up, concerned, while Jasper shifted closer to Alice.

"A Fledgling was hurt. Badly." She broke off before continuing, answering the question in their heads. "Aphrodite LaFont."

I snapped my head up to stare at Jasper. _Don't you dare_, I mouthed, but he said it anyway. "They think it was us."

Carlisle's doctor's instincts kicked in at the same time as his authorative ones. He left the room at light speed, Alice, Jasper and Emmett following in his wake. I tailed them, slower, and then stopped around the corner as they disappeared into the infirmary. There, I turned and walked in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p><strong>Izzie<strong>

I watched unblinkingly as Esme sat in the chair opposite mine. She gazed down at Aphrodite for a while, concern passing over her face. I shifted closer- if the concern _was _an act, there was no way I was falling for it.

"How did it happen?"

I narrowed my eyes until she looked up. "You mean you don't know?"

Confusion, and then shock, registered on her expression. "You- you think I- we..." She gestured towards Aphrodite, seemingly lost for words. Funny, I didn't remember vampires losing the ability to speak. "Why wouldn't we think that?" I kept my voice a deadpan. "You turn up and we start dropping like flies. Awful coincidence." In truth, I didn't know what to believe- but this seemed as good a theory as any. Before she could speak, I carried on. "So what was the motive? You got an invitation to stay here- was that an oppurtunity, or does this go further back than that? Did you have something to do with the invitation, as well? Can Tanya put ideas in people's heads? Is that her talent?" I sensed people entering the room, but didn't stop. The anger was building up now. "Lenobia was always sensible, it's kind of out of character for her to bring in a bunch of _your _kind, even with your Good Samaritan acts- but then there's quite a lot of out- of- character behaviour in your coven, isn't there?" By the end, my voice had risen to twice it's normal volume. Esme looked dismayed- and maybe even a bit scared- and her eyes flicked to something behind my shoulder. I wasn't surprised, when I turned to see Carlisle there.

"You're too late," I snapped. "Somebody else played doctor for you. Unless you were hoping to finish her off?"

He looked stunned, and for a moment, I almost regretted my words. I caught sight of Alice and Jasper behind him, and quickly turned back to Aphrodite.

I couldn't deal with this now. I couldn't let my anger get the better of me, even if it wasn't mine. I glanced back at Jasper, taking him in properly for the first time since I gained Fledgling vision. He looked tense and guilty.

_Please don't let Venus be right. _

But I knew that she probably was.

"Be- Izzie. We did _not _do this." Carlisle's voice was strained. I kept my eyes on Aphrodite's face, drawing calmness from her unusually peaceful expression. Carlisle didn't say anything more.

"Who exactly do you mean by 'we'? You're speaking for people that aren't even _here_." I met his gaze evenly, and he shook his head firmly. "Nobody in our family would do that. You _know _that, surely!"

I let out a bleak laugh. How could he say that? "Actually, I really don't. I'm the last person you could expect to know that. I mean, you nearly got me murdered by a tracker, then you killed me, then you sent me into a depression after fucking off because of said nearly-killing, _then _you turned your backs on me completely. Don't you _dare _try the saint act around me." I felt sobs rising in my throat, but choked them back. Behind me, Esme let out a whimper. I considered walking out- this was too much, too soon. I couldn't leave Aphrodite with them, though. Just as I opened my mouth to tell them to fuck off, I heard the last thing I wanted to hear, and felt my blood run cold.

An ear-piercing scream, from the floor above.

An echoing shriek, from the courtyard below the window.

A dark shape blurring past the window two beds over.

And the unmistakable sound of a body hitting concrete.

I felt my body move in slow motion. Adrenaline carried me to the window, forced my elbow through the glass. I was falling through the air in seconds, one, two levels of concrete whizzing past before I hit the ground, landing- just- on my feet beside a still body.

"_Paisley_!" A girl was screaming from a window above me. "_Paisley! Jesus _fucking _Christ!"_

I dropped to my knees and slammed my hand down on the body. My mind seeped through my fingers, trying to find something to hold on to, an attachment, a lifeline, a hope in Hell that this Fledgling could be fixed.

My mind registered that the girl screaming was Shania Edwards at the same time as my fingers registered the lack of a pulse in the body before me.

* * *

><p><em>I watched closesly as Izzie realised the girl was dead. Shocked her- she was halfway towards full-blown hysterics when Stark reached her. Zoey was there, then, at the same time as students came flooding to the scene. Unsurprisingly, the Dark Daughters and Sons were all present before most of the kids knew the Fledgling- Paisley- was dead. People were screaming and crying before Lenobia arrived on the scene with Dragon and a few other teachers in tow.<em>

_This was going to rock their boats, for sure. They were still in mourning over the stupid bitch in the infirmary, and she wasn't even dead. _

_I hid my smile and walked away. Nobody noticed me go amidst the confusion._


	13. Chapter 13

sorry about the wait don't give up on me omfg

also your reviews are like little drops of happiness

like smarties, or white chocolate buttons

i love them all, and i love you all

but i _swear to God and any other powers up there _that if i get one more person telling me to 'update soon!1!1 lol' literally five minutes after i post a new chapter, or one more person PMing me to tell me they 'deserve an update', i will actually start a nuclear war. like seriously i cannot express how much i value your feedback and your interest, but i actually have my own life outside of fanfiction. also fuck off do i 'owe you' an update. i dont remember taking out a loan from your personal bank of arrogance, or signing a contract promising to give you a new chapter every time i have a spare ten minutes, ok? just chill the fuck out

ok.

LOVE YOU

((seriously though i actually love you all so much thankyou for the support wheeee))

* * *

><p><strong><em>Erin's P.O.V<em>**

"Well, I have in my hands the weather forecast for the foreseeable future." I looked up slowly to see Venus standing in front of me. "As far as experts can tell, it will be a constant storm of hatred, suspicion, and the fucks that I'm failing to give about anything right now. There have also been reports of teenage girls falling from the sky-"

"Venus!" Shaunee, sat next to me, stood up and took a step toward the smirking blonde. "Shut the hell _up_!"

"She's drunk," said somebody else at the same time. Zoey appeared behind Venus, looking more tired than I had ever seen her.

"Oh, great. Helpful. The girl with possibly the most useful ability at a time like this disappears from a murder scene and comes back hammered. Thanks, honey! So thoughtful of you!" Shaunee was crouching slightly; the stress was affecting all of us; and unfortunately, a few of us preferred fighting as an outlet. I tugged her away and shook my head at her scowl; this wasn't a time for petty arguments, and I could totally understand why Venus had hit the booze. Shaunee looked back at Venus. "Don't be so fucking heartless, as well," She hissed.

Venus swung around to face Shaunee, eyes glinting at the prospect of a fight. "Bitch, I can say whatever the hell I want about dead girls. _I am one_."

"Venus!" On the other sofa, I heard Jack gasp. Stevie Rae stormed over from the window and grabbed hold of Venus, who burst into laughter.

"Shit, did I cross a line? Wait, do we even _have _lines anymore? Is there even a guideline to how to live in this shithole? Because it seems to me that you lot sitting on your asses lamenting about some maybe-suicidal girl is just as fucking helpful as me sitting on _my _ass drinking about it!" Stevie Rae was towing her away, towards the girl's dormitories, but she didn't shut up. "And why the fuck are you all so down, anyway? You all fucking hated her!"

"That doesn't _matter_!" I stalked over and shoved my face in hers, sick of the twisted smile on her face. "She's _dead_! And who even says it was a suicide?"

Venus shoved Stevie Rae away, hard enough that she landed on her butt. I felt the others hurrying over to separate us, but my attention was stolen by Venus, who was howling with laughter. "No _fucking _shit, _really_!" She pulled her lips back in a snarl. "As if that's not the most obvious thing in the world! Jesus Christ, you really _are _the dumbest bunch of fucks I ever met, you know that? You actually thought for a second that the stupid slut _killed _herself? As _if!_" She gave another snort of laughter. "You're all useless!"

Shaunee shoved in front of me. "Then fuck off!" She spat, pushing Venus towards the stairs.

Venus pushed Shaunee back; she stumbled into me. "Oh, believe me, you dumb shit, I would if I could. Unfortunately, the only people I fucking like are either brain dead in the infirmary or having a psychotic breakdown in Lenobia's office so I'm kind of stuck for options. You see my issue, _skank_?" Damien, stood two inches behind me, gave an angry hiss; he wasn't the only one. The whole lot of us were ready to pounce. There were seven of us against one of her, radiating hostility and fury. She must have felt cornered. Maybe that's why it happened. Maybe it was instinct; maybe it was intentional- well, intentional as anything could be in that much of a drunken state.

She took a step back, framed herself in the doorway.

Let out a snarl- no, a scream. A combination of the two.

Raised her hands, palms stretched out towards us.

And sent into all of us the most horrific wave of agony anybody could ever imagine.

It was like I was burning, but I was freezing. My veins were acid; my heart was swelling; my limbs were melting. Around me, I could hear the others howling just like I was.

And then it was gone, and so was Venus.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Zoey's P.O.V<em>**

Venus had been gone for four hours when Izzie got back. She was pale, and her cheeks were marked with tear tracks.

Of course, before she even asked why all of us were sat in silence, shaking, in her dormitory, she demanded to know where Venus was.

"We don't know."

She didn't like that. "What do you mean, you don't _know_? She was with you earlier! We agreed to stick together, remember?" She squinted at all of us. "And why the _fuck _is everybody here when Aphrodite is in the Infirmary!" It wasn't a question; she didn't care about the answer.

"Izzie, sit down," I said tiredly.

"What, so we can all have a chat while Venus _and _Aphrodite are on their own?"

"Venus is probably with Aphrodite." Darius was trying to sound reassuring; it had the opposite effect.

"Oh, fantastic, so when the Cullens go to finish Aphrodite off, they'll get her for dessert!"

I stormed over and forced her in to her desk chair. "We need to talk, Izzie, now shut _up _for a moment!" Without waiting for a reply, or letting go of her shoulders, I took a deep breath and rushed in to what had happened. "Venus got back drunk, about, what, four hours ago. She was really pissed off, Izzie, and she-" I paused, at a loss for words. "She has this power. I don't know if you knew about it, you three tell each other more than you tell her-"

"Everybody knows about her power, idiot-"

"Not that one! A different one! Pain!"

Izzie stared at me, jaw slightly slack. "What the fuck are you talking about, Zoey?"

Stevie Rae butted in. "She's telling the truth, Izzie. Venus got real pissed off and did this shit with her hands, and we all- God, I don't even know what it was. It was awful. Like she was making me feel every kind of pain at once. Then it stopped, and she was gone."

Izzie's expression didn't change from the one of disbelief she had been wearing since I manhandled her into a chair. "You're saying she used the Cruciatus on you."

"This isn't a sodding joke, Izzie!" Erin was stood by the bathroom door, looking terrible. She pointed at Izzie. "You know why she's denying it? She knew! She fucking _knew_ about it!"

"What the _fuck_?" Izzie tried to stand up, but I forced her back down. Apparently, Izzie wasn't the only one who disagreed; Damien whirled around to yell right back at Erin. "That's bullcrap, Erin, and you know it!"

Erin wasn't calming down. She was damn near hysterical, and I couldn't do anything, because I had a furious blonde to try and keep from battering her. "She did! She _did_!"

Damien was yelling back, but I couldn't hear his words; everybody was screaming now. A buzzing noise started in my ears, and I felt my hands slipping from Izzie's shoulders. She launched out of the chair towards Erin, who ducked away; Shaunee tried to get between the two but Izzie had her up against a wall, down on the floor, fist in her face, in her collar. I closed my eyes and reopened them; Damien and Darius were trying to pull Izzie off of Erin, but she wasn't letting go. On impulse, I flicked out my hands, hoping that maybe my powers could shut them all up.

The lights went out.

Not the result I was going for.

I flicked out my hands again.

The lights went back on, and Erin and Izzie flew to separate parts of the room. I blinked; it wasn't me doing that. Damien had his hands out as well; it was his power over air, forcing the two apart. Izzie turned to me. "Do you hear what she's saying?" She screamed hysterically, jabbing a finger at Erin. "_She's saying Venus killed Paisley!" _The room fell silent. I gaped at Erin, who was sobbing on the floor, head in her hands.

"I didn't mean it, I swear to Nyx, Izzie, I didn't mean that!"

"Then why would you fucking _say _it?" Izzie had never looked so venomous. I glanced from her to Erin, trying to wrap my head around what the hell was going on.

"I don't _know_!"

"It makes sense." We all swivelled around to face Erik, who had remained scarily quiet throughout the whole thing. "Venus was angry. Scared. She was angry and scared when we were yelling at her, too. Maybe she flipped out. Maybe she did it by accident."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Erik was actually accusing Venus of _murder_? I whirled around to see everybody else's faces- surely they would be just as disgusted by Erik as me, _surely_- but some of them were actually nodding. Shaunee. Jack. Stark. Erin wasn't nodding, but she wasn't looking like she was about to argue, either. Even _Darius _looked unsure.

I met the eyes of the few who seemed to agree with me; Damien, Stevie Rae, and Izzie. I felt sick. This couldn't be happening. They couldn't actually think that Venus was capable of killing another Fledgling.

But then I remembered what she said about Paisley. _"And why the fuck are you all so down, anyway? You all fucking hated her!"_

No. _No. _I didn't believe for a second that Venus would have actually hurt her, and neither should they.

Something had changed- not just with the House, but with us. I realized that now, and my blood ran cold.

Somebody in the House of Night was trying to pit us against each other… and they were succeeding.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Alice's P.O.V<em>**

We sat in silence, which was strange. We never sat. We didn't need to.

"Bella told Lenobia about us." Edward sounded hostile; that wasn't new. "Told her that she thinks we did it."

"Her name's Izzie," Esme whispered. I shot her a look- so did Edward, but his was almost as ugly as his tone.

"So?" Emmett looked around at us, his gaze resting finally on Carlisle. "So, what do we do? Leave?"

Carlisle cupped Esme's knee. He took his time answering; this had to be the hardest series of events for him, for any of us, since… well, since she left. "No. We leave, and we look guilty. We stay."

"And do what?" Rosalie flitted to the window, peered out the curtains, and returned to Emmett. "Watch them whisper about us? Spend the rest of our time here with a bunch of teenagers who undoubtedly want us dead? We might as well just go!"

"No, we don't sit around." Carlisle's jaw was set. "We find out who did this. We help them. They're children; they deserve our help."

It was a good facade, to be fair. He almost looked genuine. Too bad none of us were stupid; we all caught on instantly. This wasn't about a dead Fledgling. This was about trying to get Izzie back.

Edward's jaw snapped shut. "Carlisle, I am not going to-"

"I'm not asking you to." Carlisle stared at Edward. I felt my eyes widening; the look on Carlisle's face was actually _scary_. I had rarely seen such anger in his eyes, least of all aimed at Edward. But Carlisle didn't try to muffle it. He stood up and stared Edward down. "You can leave, if you feel that you ca't spare your generosity. But I can assure you- _son_- that I am not leaving this building until I know who hurt the girl."

Next to me, Jasper was tense. I could feel his distress radiating slowly in to me. I squeezed his hand, and he shifted, pulling his emotions back in.

"Fine." Edward eyed Carlisle. "I'll stay."

"Good for you."

Emmett audibly gasped; Carlisle never used such an uncaring tone with anybody in the family. Edward, however, just snorted and slammed out of the room, dragging Tanya with him.

"Carlisle," Rosalie said quietly. "You don't think Edward actually-"

"It's not an option I want to consider, Rosalie," Carlisle replied evenly. "But I am considering it."


	14. Chapter 14

Jesus fuck, it's been a long time. Sorry. Thankyou for all the lovely messages and reviews, I'll try and make updates more regular, but between college, work and family drama m life is pretty hectic. xo

* * *

><p>Aphrodite's brain was beating against the inside of her skull, and her heart was trying to rip through her chest.<br>_It's important…  
><em>The pain was unbearable. She whimpered, unable to emit any louder noise; winced, unable to move.  
><em>It's so important, child…<br>_That voice. She knew that voice.  
><em>You can't let him hurt her, child. She's too important...<br>_Aphrodite forced her eyes open, fighting back a scream as the pain engulfed her. _Who? _She cried out. _Who's gonna hurt who?  
><em>There was no reply, and Aphrodite lapsed back into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Stevie Rae's POV<strong>

"Venus!" I grunted as I slid through a tiny gap between two cellar walls. The place was musty as Hell and stank to high heaven, but I had a feeling she'd be down here. It's where we all go when we're upset. "Venus! Answer me!"  
>"No need to yell, cowgirl." Her disgruntled reply came from about two feet away, and my heart tried to shoot out of my chest. She registered my shock with a sneer. "What, you can't see in the dark anymore? Oh, the irony."<br>I ignored her sarcasm; bitchiness seemed to be a default for the girl, especially when she was upset. "You need to come back, V." Her expression was colder than ice. "Everyone's worried about you."  
>"I call bullshit."<br>"You're calling wrong, girl." I narrowed my eyes and directed my senses into her. Venus was a master at building mental walls, but I was a practiced hand at knocking them don; it didn't take long to get inside her head.  
>Confusion. Regret. Fear. All emotions she would have everyone believed she was incapable of feeling- yet there they were, and as her High Priestess, it hurt me, too. Hurt me that she was hurting. I reached out a hand; she took a step back. I echoed her movements, and she walked smack into the wall behind her. Cornered.<br>I watched, anticipating a reaction, a rise. If Erik's theory about her aversion to confrontation staying parallel to her losing her shit was true, then there was a chance that she would throw me into the dirt ceiling at any second. But she didn't- she just gazed at me, expression remaining unfathomable despite us both knowing I could feel her distress.  
>"You're nervous." She spoke quietly, eyes searching my face. "You think I'm gonna jump you, or something?"<br>I started to lie, then changed my mind. "No point in ruling it out. Speaking of unnecessary violence, what the heck was all that about earlier on?"  
>Venus moved so suddenly I almost flinched. Almost, but not quite, because I believed in my heart of hearts that this girl- however cruel she could be at times- would never hurt me. We were bonded by something more than blood, after all. She was a royal pain in my ass, and I was an even bigger pain in hers, but attempted murder of each other wasn't- and never would be- on the menu.<br>She turned so she was facing the path leading deeper into the tunnels, and started walking. I followed behind, waiting. It was a good ten minutes we spent walking in silence before we reached our destination.  
>It was the part of the underground system which we, the Red Fledglings, had deemed our 'home' for a good long while. From the time between Neferet smuggling me out of the House after I 'died' to the day Zoey kicked her ass into oblivion, this is where we had made our safety- hidden in the shadows, at one with the darkness and comfort of the Earth, keeping hold on each other for lack of other human companions.<br>There was a little alcove in the dirt walls about two minutes away from our main 'halls'. Venus slumped into it, resting her back against the gritty wall and stretching her legs out in front of her. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the only items I had snatched from the girl's dorms before I came looking for her- a half-empty box of Marlboros and a lighter. She took them, pulled a cigarette out, placed it between her lips and lit it in one fluid motion. The scene was so familiar, yet so distant.  
><em>This was how she'd been sitting when I first came here, new to this Red Fledgling shit. Venus had stared at me, both eyebrows raised, as I stumbled up, new Red Mark gleaming on my head. I stopped when I reached her, asked her what was going on, where I was, why my throat hurt so bad. She blew a plume of smoke in my face and offered me a cigarette. I declined; I wanted answers, not lung cancer. She had rolled her eyes, told me to trot on, the rest of the losers were down the hall to the right.<br>_I returned to the present, and threw myself down next to her, cross-legged and lacking in her elegance.  
>"I don't know what happened," Venus murmured. I looked at her and she stopped talking, so I moved my gaze to the other side of the tunnel. "I can't control it. At least, I don't think so. I mean, it's only happened twice now, and I haven't been experimenting or anything. I tried, but I can't <em>make <em>it happen."  
>I was stuck on the 'it's only happened twice now' part. Who else had she hurt? Denial rose in my stomach, and she expelled it with her next statement.<br>"I didn't kill Paisley. She fell out a window, she didn't die of pain. The second time was earlier on. The first time was with a guy I never even met. Never saw him again, either."  
>I could feel my brow furrowing in confusion; she could feel it as well, so she explained, slightly impatiently. "He just turned up at the House. Didn't even see his face, he had a hoodie on. I mean this was, what, 1AM? Cold enough for humans to wear hoodies, so no surprise. I was out behind the wall, having a fag before those goddamn riding lessons. Hands down, those horses make me want to kill a bitch." She took a drag. "So anyway, he sees me, and he starts on about some promise I supposedly made. I told him to do one, and he came closer. Tried to grab me, and he was yelling about how I was in deep shit, how I was going to die, blahdy blah. And then he tried to grab me again, pulled my hair. Ripped a chunk out." Venus paused, and her next words were quieter, more distinct. "I don't remember what happened, exactly. I was just so <em>angry<em>. I mean, who the fuck did this guy think he was? So I shoved my cig on his arm, and he started… screaming. And his pain… I could feel it, but not so much in a bad way. A good way, because like I said, fucker deserved it. And next thing I know, I… well, I doubled the pain he was feeling. And that's all I can remember." She hesitated. "And I mean that literally. There's a gap after that. As much as I've tried, all I can see is me hurting him, then me sitting in Nyx's temple. Same with today. I can remember pushing Shaunee, and I can remember being here. No inbetween."  
>She stopped talking, and I shifted so I was facing her. "I don't think you did it."<br>Gratitude flashed in her face. It was only for a nanosecond, but I felt it. It was devastating. She was so thankful that one person believed that she didn't commit the crime she was being accused of. Then it was gone, and she was pulling out another cigarette, lighting it with the end of the first one.  
>"Will you come back with me?"<br>"What, and stay in a place where everyone thinks I'm a fucking murderer? Think I'll pass." Neither of us mentioned that she was actually a murderer; before the relative civilization of the Red Fledglings, there had been blood hunts, and Venus was the thirstiest of them all. Her body count had been at 32 for a good while now. Nobody dared to bring it up, for fear of the tally raising to 33.  
>"They won't. Not when we talk to them." She just scowled at me. "Don't <em>make <em>me make you, V," I said evenly. Her scowl deepened, but she stood up, and we began to walk back the way we'd came.

**Izzie's POV  
><strong>It was nearly morning- or evening, for us- and we were back where we had started the day: sat around Aphrodite's bed, gazing at her still form. The tension in the room was unbearable. Venus was stood across the room, apart from the rest of us. Whenever I looked away from Aphrodite, it was to meet her eyes- dark and troubled- or Stark's.  
>The atmosphere probably wasn't being helped by how Venus was subconsciously radiating waves of her own agitation.<br>Erin kept stealing glances at me, and eventually, in the silence, I snapped. "Whatever it is you have to say, spit it out, already!"  
>Erin leveled with me. "I'm sorry." Shaunee, next to her, looked at me with the same expression. Erin was speaking for both of them. I snorted. "If she accepts it, so will I."<br>Everybody in the room looked to Venus, who was suddenly staring at a bad hidden by curtains across the room, teeth clenched.  
>"We're sorry, Venus." Shaunee spoke this time, and her obvious distaste spoke hundreds about the already-strained relationship between the three. Venus didn't even look at them. Stevie Rae rolled her eyes. "<em>Venus<em>," She said warningly.  
>Venus blinked and flicked her eyes over. "What?"<br>"They said sorry. Don't be a cow."  
>Venus narrowed her eyes at the insult. I intervened, still annoyed at Erin and Shaunee- and everyone else who'd turned against Venus. "She was miles away, don't get your cowgirl panties in a twist." Everyone turned to stare at me, wide-eyed, and I glared back; Venus gave me a small smile.<br>Zoey, ever the peace-maker, changed the subject.  
>"So, who hurt Aphrodite and killed Paisley?"<br>Okay, maybe peace-maker was a bit too generous. There was nothing peaceful about attempted murder, after all.  
>Damien spoke up. "It's a bit random, isn't it? Was there any connection between Aphrodite and Paisley? Were they ever friends?"<br>Venus and Erik- the only members of the group who had known Aphrodite since she had first been Marked- shook their heads simultaneously. Erik expanded: "Shania and Venus were at each other's throats from Shania's first day. Aphrodite arrived and went with Venus; Paisley came in and got with Shania. Shania hated Aphrodite on principle, and the feeling was more than mutual. Never a civil word from the startline."  
>"Looks like Shania's trying to create a finish line," Shaunee said darkly, staring at Aphrodite's still-bandaged head. Jack shot her a 'shut up' scowl, and she bowed her head a bit.<br>"So they hated each other. Is it too far fetched to think that Aphrodite got in a catfight with her? Maybe went a bit too far?" Damien's voice showed that he wasn't even considering the possibility, but grasping for answers. Stevie Rae widened her eyes in a 'duh' way. "Um, Damien? Aphrodite was in here when Paisley fell."  
>Damien stared at her, face slightly red. "Oh. I can't believe I forgot that."<br>"Oh my _fucking _God!" The group jumped and turned to look at me. Again. I hit my hand against my head. "I can't _believe _I forgot! Shania was with her when she fell!"  
>Zoey stared at me. "<em>What<em>?"  
>"She was screaming from the window!"<br>"_How _did you not remember that?" Jack looked shocked, and my defensive sarcasm lashed out for me; "Between watching her die and being attacked by Erin, I was kind of busy."  
>Before Erin could argue with my inaccurate retelling of the night's events (and even I would admit that what I'd said was bullshit), Venus stalked over and slammed her hands down on the table at the end of Aphrodite's bed. "Shut the fuck up."<br>Everyone's eyes went from me to her, and I gaped. Did Venus just _swear _at me? Okay, she always swears. But did she just swear at me in a _serious _way?  
>Before anyone could summon up a nasty retort, she leaned forwards and started hissing. "If you want to ask Shania about Paisley, she's in that cubicle-" She jerked her head towards the curtain-disguised bed she had been staring at earlier- "And she's a fucking mess. Go for your life, she won't even be capable of lying right now, her emotions are crazier than my mother. Like, they <em>physically hurt." <em>I realised as she spoke that her entire body was tensed up, as if all the bones in her body were pushing into themselves. "Now I need to go and talk to somebody, and I need you not to follow me. Got that?"  
>There was a small silence as we all stared at her, then Zoey spoke, in the same hushed tone. "Venus, you're blatantly keeping something from us now, and it's not helping your case-"<br>Venus leaned even further forward, meeting each of us dead in the eye. "Fine. How about this: I'm going to go off on my own, and in doing so, I am going to make myself an even bigger suspect in your little 'who done it' brigade. I understand that, and I don't give a shit. If you follow me, I'll have to hurt you." With that, she whirled around and stalked away. As she passed the cubicle Shania was in, a violent shudder ripped through her body at the force of negative emotions, and then she was gone.  
>"Don't follow her," I said flatly. "She <em>will <em>hurt you. Now, what are we going to do about _that_?" I looked over at Shania's bed.  
>Zoey stood up. "We're going to talk to her."<br>Just as she took a step towards Shania's cubicle, the fire alarm went off.


	15. Chapter 15

So I'm not so great at updating. Life goes on.

* * *

><p><strong>Venus' P.O.V<strong>

I had to talk to him.  
>I had to talk to him, and we had to be alone when I was talking to him. That much was clear. But how was I going to get him alone? His psychic freak of a wife was always at his elbow, and Gingernut Vamp seemed to show up at all the worst times.<br>I paused in the middle of the hallway and considered. The Cullens' dorms were right down the hall; I could see the door. He would be in there, no doubt.  
>What was it Izzie had said?<br>'_You said they can't feel pain?'  
>'Only fire... and bites from another vampire.'<em>

Fire.  
>My elbow was smashing into the nearest fire escape before my thought train even had a chance to slow down. I waited- one second, two seconds, three- the door slammed open and they were shooting down the hallway towards me. Gingernut and his pyscho girlfriend weren't with them. The doctor, Carlisle, paused for a split second when he reached me, and I gazed back at him.<br>'Fire,' I said flatly. He nodded and took off, and they all followed. The pyschic one was at the front, and the one I needed was at the back, so I acted on instinct and shot a wave of urgency towards him. He faltered, hesitated, and that split second was all it took for his 'family' to disappear round the corner. He turned to look at me, eyebrows creasing.  
>'I need to talk to you.'<br>I watched realisation dawn on his face- he was a quick one, I'd give him that, before he started making his way back into one of their rooms. I followed him, closed the door, and leaned against it. He was across the room.  
>'Jasper, isn't it?'<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper's P.O.V<strong>

She knew.  
>This girl, this strange, pretty, cunning girl knew what I had done. Of all the people to figure it out, it would be her- not a member of my vampire family, not my wife. No, a Fledgling.<br>'Venus.'  
>She didn't give much time for casual conversation, just flicked her hand up to lock the door. 'How long before the Vam Fam figures out there's no fire?'<br>'I'd say around three minutes.'  
>'Well, we have a lot to discuss in three minutes, wouldn't you say?' Her accusing tone didn't hit me as hard as the fury I felt radiating from her. Either way, I was halfway to crouching down to attack before she snorted and rolled her eyes. 'I'm not here to fight, Cullen. I'm here to talk about what the fuck you did to my sister.'<br>I paused, bemused. Her sister? I didn't know any sisters.  
>'<em>Izzie<em>, you dumb fuck.'  
>Oh.<br>'So I'm going to go ahead and save us some time by talking. You be a nice vamp and just listen, yeah?' Before I could snap back at her condescending tone, she was moving towards me, talking all the while. 'You changed their feelings, didn't you? That day she came back with the Mark on her head, desperate, scared, begging for help, you made everyone hate her. Why? You know, I've thought about this a lot, and I've come to a conclusion: your ginger fuckhead brother wasn't _down_ with having a vampyre girlfriend. Let's skip over the hypocrisy there, because I could talk about that for _days_. Instead, we're going to get back to the original point: Eddie wasn't happy with his girlfriend having a moon on her head, and he knew his family wouldn't care either way, because they loved her. So he sees her getting Marked in Alice's head, comes to you, tells you to make them turn her away, and you do, like some obedient little puppy. My question for you, Jasper, is this: what did he have over you that you would make you do _that_?'  
>And just like that, my resistance crumbled. I looked at the floor. She was inches away from me, and I could hear her sped-up pulse. Not sped up out of fear, but sped up out of anger.<br>'He knows... things.' I said quietly. 'About me.'  
>She was quiet for a second. 'Things that would turn your family away from you.' It wasn't a question, so I didn't reply. I met her gaze, and god help me, she was the only non-vampire who had been able to scare me since I was bitten.<br>'Did he hurt those Fledglings, Jasper?' I blinked, confused. She had changed in a split second. She wasn't angry, she wasn't furious, she wasn't ready to attack- and I could easily beat her, but to hurt a young girl would turn my family against me in a split second for sure. And I didn't even _want _to attack her.  
>'Jasper.' She was pushed right up against me now, her eyes burning in to mine. '<em>Did Edward hurt those Fledglings?'<em>

I met her gaze. 'I don't know.'

* * *

><p><strong>Zoey's P.O.V<strong>

For a split second after the alarm started, we were all frozen in place. Then I whirled back towards Aphrodite's bed, and they all moved with me.  
>'Everyone out, now. Darius, carry Aphrodite, make sure her head's angled up from the rest of her body, do <em>not <em>let her start bleeding again.' By the time I had finished two sentences everyone was moving; Darius already had Aphrodite in his arms and was by the door. Izzie, however, was sat where she had been, staring at me. We gazed at each other until the room had emptied- only us and Shania. The fire alarm blared, but I could hear clearly as she said, quite calmly, 'Zoey, there is no fire.'  
>I felt my mouth open as the delayed panic began to overcome me. 'Izzie, we have to get Shania out <em>right now<em>-'  
>'<em>Zoey<em>. There's no fire.'  
>The calmness of her voice caught me off guard, and I stared at her. 'The fire alarm-'<br>'-Is fake. I'd bet any money that Venus set it off.' My mind was whirling, but she stood up and said, still quiet, 'But we can use this time.'  
>'For <em>what<em>?'  
>Izzie inclined her head towards Shania's cubicle. 'You wanted to talk to her, didn't you?'<p>

Izzie was up and moving towards Shania before I had a chance to respond, so I followed her wordlessly. She was right, after all.  
>She threw the curtains back, and there was Shania.<br>She was deathly pale, her Mark standing out on her head like someone had gone over it with paint. Her hands were shaking over her bedcovers, and she was tossing her head from side to side, her teeth gnawing at her lips so hard blood was trickling down her chin.  
>I tried to say something, but I was too shocked. Izzie spoke for me. 'Shania,' She said, her voice now more dead than calm. 'Did you kill Paisley?'<br>Shania didn't even respond to her own name, but the moment Paisley was mentioned, she sat upright as if someone had electrocuted her. 'Paisley.' Her voice was more a growl than anything else, high pitched yet guttural, eyes wide, hands clawing at the duvet.  
>'Did you kill her?' Izzie asked again.<br>Shania didn't look at her; she looked at me, pinned me to the wall with her eyes. 'He said he was going to hurt her.' She snarled, and I stepped back. 'He said he would _hurt her_.'

'Who said that?' Izzie demanded, her voice growing angrier.  
>'He said he would <em>kill her<em>.'  
>'He would kill Paisley? <em>Who <em>would kill Paisley?'

'Not Paisley, silly!' Shania was laughing now, manic, her mouth opened so wide I could see her tonsils. 'The light haired one! The Dark one! Light Dark Daughter!'


End file.
